Thanksgiving Leftovers: Mashed Potato Pancakes

I was invited by Sea of Book of Yum to be part of her Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Event and, after a lot of thought, I decided to focus on leftovers. As Americans gear up for Thanksgiving, all the food magazines and websites and blogs have delivered a huge array of Thanksgiving dinner and dessert ideas and suggestions. Leftovers, though, are practically a footnote taken into consideration.

These potato pancakes are made with leftover mashed potatoes. The texture is not that different, except now that they’re fried. Depending on how long you fry them, they’ll be crisp on the outside and soft inside. Of course, you can also use this for any other time of year that you have leftover mashed potatoes. (Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving last month. Technically I didn’t, as I was away in Fiji then and Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated there; instead it was Fiji’s Independence Day.)

As simple and easy that these pancakes are, I wish the idea had occurred to me before as one of those obvious things to do. I first came across the idea only recently, while browsing Bon Appetite in Flipboard. I’m not really a fan of cold mashed potatoes; I prefer eating it when it’s fresh and also preferably still warm.

The pancakes can err on the crumbly side, but you can use the crumbled pancakes with other Thanksgiving leftovers or whatever you have on hand to make a fast meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mashed Potato Pancakes

I found that 1 cup of mashed potatoes made 6 pancakes, depending on size.

1 to 2 cups mashed potatoes
1 large or extra large egg
Seasonings of your choice (I used salt and pepper and garlic powder)

Mix the egg into the mashed potatoes until it is a smooth consistency and season.

Heat a fry pan over medium heat with a small amount of butter or oil. Once hot, portion a small amount of mashed potato into the pan and spread and shape it, carefully using your hands (avoiding touching the fry pan) or the back of a measuring cup. Depending on the size of your fry pan, you may fry up to 3 pancakes at a time.

Fry the pancakes until the edges are golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, and flip. To ensure the pancake doesn’t break, make sure the flipper slides under the pancake completely. Fry the other side until golden brown, about another 5 to 7 minutes.

I have made these for years! Delicious breakfast babies. I am allergic to eggs so I don’t add them, they crumble a bit but it’s not the end of the world. Usually I end up with a large bowl of somewhat crispy in places mashed potatoes. Especially good with melted cheese mixed into the pancakes.

I love potato cakes (as we call them). I don’t usually add egg though. Sometimes a bit of flour mix or almond flour and baking powder (which seems unnecessary as I’m writing this, but mom always did). I usually fry mine on a griddle so they are brown and crispy on each side. I don’t think you can go wrong with potato pancakes!

Isn’t it funny how we do some things only because our mothers, or our parents, did it? Your version sounds good, too, Shirley, and I love how flexible this “recipe” is. 🙂 Thank you, also, about my comment on Dianne Jacob’s post.

I use leftover mashed potatos for potato farls, Northern Ireland’s version of a potato pancake. Take 2 parts mashed potato (needs to be cold) and mix with 1 part flour (any kind, doesn’t need to be a mix). Knead and either roll out (which I can never get to work) or just form into flat patties. Fry in butter or oil. You can even freeze them and then either fry again in the pan to warm up, or toast them.